Church Of St John The Baptist And The Seven Maccabees

Church of St John the Baptist and the Seven Maccabees, Cookbury

Parish church with Norman origins, extensively remodelled in the 14th century (probably around 1315 when dedicated by Bishop Stapledon), with 16th-century additions. Stone rubble walls with a gable-ended asbestos slate roof.

The church originally had a cruciform plan with three altars. A north aisle was added, probably in the early 16th century. The west tower is of early form and likely dates from the early 14th century, as does the south porch. A distinctive feature at the west end is the way the narrow tower has small additions to north and south, both closed towards the nave, almost resembling a dwarfed west transept. The church escaped extensive 19th-century restoration, preserving much of its early fabric.

The exterior presents a very low, narrow, unbuttressed west tower with a pyramidal roof, almost enveloped by extensions to the nave on north and south sides. There is no west doorway. A 15th-century two-light west window has four-centred heads and a hoodmould. A tall four-centred lancet of circa 1300 appears on the north side of the nave towards the west end. The north aisle does not extend as far as the west end and features a three-light straight-headed granite mullion window in its west wall and two on its north face. A granite north doorway has a very depressed four-centred head with roll and fillet mouldings, recessed spandrels and hoodmould. A two-light mullion window sits at the east end of the aisle. A small 19th-century lean-to vestry against the aisle end has a single chamfered light and shallow arched doorway.

The chancel contains a tall lancet with four-centred head on its north wall. The east window dates to circa 1300 and has three lights with trefoiled heads; two more lancet lights appear on the south wall of the chancel, with the eastern one having a square head, probably altered. The south transept features a 15th-century two-light window with trefoiled heads on its east side and probably a restored 15th-century style two-light window to the south. The south wall of the nave has two four-centred head lancets on either side of a 14th-century gabled porch with coping stones and a pointed arch chamfered doorway.

The interior porch roof has been restored. The 14th-century south doorway is chamfered with a two-centred arch. Internal walls are covered with 20th-century plaster except in the transept and west wall where stonework is exposed. The three-bay north arcade features two westward arches of Perpendicular form with Pevsner A-type piers, moulded capitals and four-centred arches. The easternmost arch is 14th-century and represents the former north transept arch; it is very pointed with different moulding and a semi-hexagonal respond to the east against the wall. There is no chancel arch. The south transept has a pointed rubble arch with a hagioscope. A tall four-centred dressed stone tower arch spans above. Windows to the nave and chancel have pointed chamfered rear arches.

Roofs over the nave, chancel and transept were renewed in the late 19th or early 20th century with arch-braced form. The roof over the north aisle is older, probably 16th-century, and also arch-braced. The altar and lectern probably incorporate parts of the carved rood screen, which has been replaced by a late 19th or early 20th-century one. The pulpit incorporates 17th-century carving to panels which appear reused. The old benches survive, plain in the nave and aisle apart from one at the rear with a carved end. In the transept, one bench features worn carved ends with a panelled and richly carved front showing arcading and Renaissance designs; this was apparently known as the Dursland pew. A square 13th-century font with moulding around the bottom stands on a renewed central stem with four outer pillars on an original square moulded base. The chancel floor comprises medieval Barnstaple tiles.

Although a fairly simple church, its importance lies in its early date and relatively unaltered state.